Innovation Opportunities for Humydry
Client
Humydry (via Lucid)
Industry
Home Care / Consumer Goods
Year
2019
Role
User Researcher & Innovation Strategist
Context
Humydry was an established brand helping consumers address humidity-related issues in the home. As consumer expectations and lifestyles evolved, the company sought to understand how emerging trends could affect its category and identify opportunities for future innovation. The challenge was to move beyond incremental product improvements and develop a structured view of future opportunities grounded in customer needs and market evolution.
Objective
Identify emerging opportunities for innovation. Understand evolving customer needs and behaviors. Define strategic areas for future product development. Build a roadmap to guide long-term innovation efforts.
My Contribution
Conducted competitive analysis. Mapped market and lifestyle trends. Led user research and ethnographic studies. Developed personas and Jobs-to-be-Done frameworks. Mapped user journeys. Facilitated co-creation workshops. Led innovation prioritization activities. Co-created the innovation roadmap.
Process
Competitive landscape analysis. Product portfolio assessment. Trend mapping. Ethnographic research in Barcelona. Online interviews with users and competitor customers across Spain. Persona and Jobs-to-be-Done development. User journey mapping. Co-creation workshops with designers, interior decorators, and company leaders. Idea evaluation and prioritization. Innovation roadmap development.
Key Insights
Smaller living spaces increased the visibility and impact of humidity-related issues. Growing interest in wellness expanded expectations around comfort and indoor environments. Home aesthetics became increasingly important, influencing product selection and usage. Sustainability considerations were shaping purchasing decisions. Consumers were seeking more specialized solutions tailored to specific needs and contexts. Emerging needs included odor management and solutions related to pets and shared living spaces. Users often developed improvised solutions that revealed unmet needs and opportunities for innovation.
Outcomes
Innovation opportunities identified across multiple time horizons. Strategic innovation roadmap developed. Prioritized concepts aligned with user needs, trends, and business capabilities. Shared framework created for future product innovation decisions.
Key Learnings
Innovation opportunities often emerge from observing workarounds rather than direct requests. Trend analysis becomes more valuable when connected to real user behavior. Effective innovation requires balancing desirability, feasibility, and strategic fit. Roadmaps help organizations move from isolated ideas to long-term innovation planning.
Strategic Approach
I combined trend mapping, competitive analysis, product portfolio review, ethnographic research, and user interviews to understand both current pain points and emerging needs. Research included conversations with Humydry users and competitor customers across Spain, as well as in-home observations in Barcelona. Findings were translated into personas, Jobs-to-be-Done, and user journeys, which informed co-creation workshops with designers, interior decorators, and company leaders. Ideas were then prioritized based on strategic fit, attractiveness, and feasibility.
Strategy
The project reframed innovation from product improvement to opportunity identification. By combining user insights, market trends, and business capabilities, we identified areas where Humydry could expand its relevance and address emerging needs. Rather than focusing on individual product ideas, the work created a structured innovation strategy that balanced desirability, feasibility, and strategic fit. Opportunities were organized across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons, providing a roadmap for future innovation efforts.